European Parliament condemns forced Islamization of children in Pakistan

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The European Parliament has adopted a resolution urging the Pakistani authorities to put an end to the abduction and forced conversion to Islam of girls from religious minorities, according to The Christian Post.

Members of the European Parliament called for the creation of a national framework to end child marriage and "create a national mechanism for handling complaints from families of abducted or forcibly converted girls from minorities."

As an example, European lawmakers cited the case of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz. In July 2025, she was abducted by 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmad, who forced her to convert to Islam and marry him.

Despite evidence that documents had been falsified and that the victim was underage, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the abductor and returned the child to him. The resolution condemned the judges’ actions and called for Maria to be given access to legal assistance and psychological support.

According to United Nations data for 2025, Christian girls account for around 25 percent of those forcibly converted through marriage. Human rights advocates noted that more than 1,000 minors from minority communities are subjected to such abuse every year.

Local authorities often become complicit in these crimes, while courts disregard child-protection laws in order to legitimize forced religious conversions. Members of the European Parliament called on Islamabad to conduct transparent investigations into all cases of abduction and guarantee the girls’ safe return to their families.

As the UOJ reported, the European Parliament identified Christianity as the world’s most persecuted religion.

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